As the fourth series of Game of Thrones begins, we go behind-the-scenes and
find out how you can travel to the locations where it was shot

Last August, shooting for a fourth series of the epic fantasy drama, which begins tonight on Sky Atlantic, took place once more in Croatia and Iceland.

The honeyed towns along Croatia's Adriatic coast, with their historic walls and a medieval urban plans, were often used as the backdrop to the scenes of warring clans, as seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros.

The image below, from the latest series, was shot at the Hotel Belvedere in Dubrovnik. The hotel is actually abandoned, but its large terrace has sweeping views across the sea. It makes for a spooky, off-beat attraction for visitors to the walled city, with empty swimming pools and the faded entrance signs to an old restaurant and bar.

Viator offers a three-hour walking tour of Dubrovnik, revealing sights including Lovrijenac Fortress and a trip to Trsteno Arboretum, which has gardens that were used as the grounds of King's Landing (viator.com)

"For the Far Northern locations of Game of Thrones, we wanted something shatteringly beautiful, barren and brutal," Janet Graham Borba, the series director, explained.

Shooting for the fourth season consequently took place over two weeks in Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park and involved around 300 cast and crew members. The show’s production company had to request a special permit in order to film in the park, which includes Iceland’s largest natural lake, rare geological wonders and scenic mountain ranges.

North Iceland is where the “beyond the wall” scenes are filmed. One of the biggest highlights of the area is Goðafoss, one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland. The water from the Skjálfandafljót river falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters.

In previous series, real-life locations that stand in for the continents of Westeros and Essos have also included Morocco, Ireland and Malta.

While Malta was the site of King’s Landing in the first series, filming moved to Dubrovnik for the second. The terracotta roofs in some scenes may also belong to buildings on the nearby island of Lokrum.

Morocco has a cameo in series three. The city defences that flaxen-haired Daenerys walks along while trying to raise an army are those of the atmospheric port of Essaouira, above.

Intrepid Travel has active, group tours that travel to Essaouira from Marrakech (intrepidtravel.co.uk).

The most permanent base for the Game of Thrones film crew in series three was in Belfast,however. The castle of Winterfell, home for the Stark family, is actually the 18th-century Castle Ward, a National Trust property. Many of the woodland action scenes meanwhile are filmed in Tollymore Forest in County Down.

Fans of the series can go on a three-day self-driving holiday around this part of Northern Ireland, in order to get a feel for the sites, that takes you from Belfast to Glenarm, Ballycastle and Londonderry.